STAR / SMCD / EMB Radiation Budget
The Geostationary Surface and Insolation Product (GSIP)
GSIP data are derived from measurements made by the imager instruments onboard geostationary satellites. NOAA/NESDIS has been providing radiation budget data from geostationary satellites operationally since 1996. The primary GSIP products are the total solar radiation (insolation) and the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) at the surface. In addition to these, GSIP also provides surface temperature, longwave and solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface, and a large number of cloud parameters. A complete list of parameters included in the latest (GSIP-v3) output file is in this pdf file .
Initially, solar radiation were made available in GSIP at the 50-km spatial scale over the contiguous US (CONUS) only using observations from the US Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) in the east position. This product is referred to as the GSIP-v1 (or GSIP CONUS) product. Since April 2009 the data are provided at a spatial resolution of ~14 km for four domains: the two extended Northern Hemispheres (east and west) every hour, and the two full disks (east and west) every three hours. This product is referred to as GSIP-v2 (or GSIP-fd). Starting March 2014 data from an upgraded production system have become available. This product is known as GSIP-v3. GSIP-v3 has an increased nominal spatial resolution of 4-km, and extended spatial coverage by providing data derived from European and Japanese geostationary satellites in addition to the US GOES satellites.
All satellite-specific domain data are instantaneous estimates at a nominal time given in UTC hours and minutes. In addition to the instantaneous value GSIP-v3 also provides an estimate of the 24-hour average of insolation and PAR. The averaging uses data in local standard time, so at every location the data represent a local "daily average". To construct such global daily average data from three "UTC days" are used. Note that currently the UTC date of the last day (out of the triplets) is used to name the file, so the data in the file are actually for the previous (local) day.
GSIP Product Status
| Product | Period | Spatial Coverage | Spatial/Temporal Resolution | Mapping | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSIP-v1 | Jan 1996 - Aug 2010 | GOES East - CONUS only | 50 km instantaneous |
0.5-degree equal angle grid | Terminated |
| GSIP-v2 | Apr 2009 - Jan 2015 | GOES East & West Extended Northern Hemisphere & Full Disk | 14 km instantaneous |
1/8-degree equal angle grid | Terminated |
| GSIP-v3 | Mar 2014 - current |
- GOES East(1) & West Extended Northern Hemisphere & Full Disk - Meteosat Full Disk - MTSAT Full Disk (until 05:32 UTC Dec 4, 2015)(2) |
4 km instantaneous, 24-h average (only global scale insolation and PAR) |
satellite pixel; non-gridded (except 24-h average insolation and PAR, which are on 5-km grids) |
Operational
(1) Dissemination of GOES-East data from GOES-13 was terminated on Jan 7, 2018 (2) Dissemination of MTSAT data was terminated on Dec 4, 2015 |
GSIP Data Access
GSIP-v1 insolation and PAR are archived at and available from the University of Maryland Department of Oceanic and Atmospheric Science
Past GSIP-v2 and GSIP-v3 products are archived at and available from the NOAA Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS). Select "GOES Surface and Insolation Products (GSIP)" from the drop down menu at the top of the page to the left of the "GO" button. All GSIP files archived at CLASS are netCDF files.
Most recent GSIP-v3 products are available in near real time from the ftp servers of the Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) of NESDIS. To request access to the data write to the OSPO Contact Person.
Acknowledgement
The delopment of GSIP algorithms and associated products has been supported by the NOAA/NESDIS GOES Product Systems Development and Implementation (G-PSDI) program ( Donald Gray, G-PSDI Program Manager and Tom Schott, Satellite Product Manager).